Vintage Opulance- Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine

A trip to the Victoria Mansion in downtown Portland, Maine, seemed like the perfect Gypsy Girl Vintage Adventure on a sunny July afternoon.

The Victoria Mansion is known as one of the greatest 19th-century houses in the United States. Located in the heart of Portland's waterfront district, it stands as a reminder of the city's wealthiest citizens who built grand homes of brick and brownstone during the pre-Civil War area.

Courtesy: victorianmansion.org

Also known as the Morse-Libby House, the Mansion was built between 1858 and 1860 as a summer home for Ruggles Sylvester Morse,  a Maine native who made his fortune in New Orleans as the proprietor of luxury hotels.  Ruggles was from Leeds and his wife Olive was born in the Gray/New Gloucester area.

Architect Henry Austin of New Haven, Connecticut, designed this majestic structure with an asymmetrical plan, low-pitched roofs, a soaring, square tower, and rich detail. The Victoria Mansion exemplifies the Italian villa style that was fashionable in the mid-nineteenth century. This picturesque style was intended to convey a blending of city and country life, so it was especially suited to Morse's summer retreat in an urban setting.

Courtesy: victoriamansion.org

To decorate his summer retreat, Morse hired Gustave Herter, a German-trained cabinetmaker and interior designer who immigrated to New York City in 1848. Herter Brothers, which he founded, was to become the most influential design firm in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. The interiors are lavishly decorated with carved wood details, painted surfaces to mimic wood, trump l'oeil and damask painted walls, themed rooms with grand furniture, Italian marble fireplaces and stain glass sky lights.

Courtesy: victoriamansion.org

Morse died in 1893 and the following year his widow sold the house with most of its furnishings to J.R. Libby, a prominent dry goods merchant. The Libby family preserved the original decor and made few changes to the property. They occupied the Mansion until about 1929. After a hurricane damaged the Mansion in 1938, its future was in peril.

In 1940 it was scheduled to be demolished and replaced by a gas station when retired educator Dr. William H. Holmes purchased the property to save it. With his sister, Clara Holmes, he opened the building to the public in 1941 as a museum in honor of Queen Victoria. Today, Victoria Mansion, Inc. is the non-profit organization who owns and operates the building as a historic house museum.

The Victoria Mansion is a magnificent example of America's highest aspirations in architecture, interior design, and the decorative arts. It is truly an example of vintage splendor and opulence!

The mansion is open for guided tours during the summer and fall, and for self-guided tours during the December holiday season, which I hear is fabulous. I can just imagine how beautiful it is decorated for the holiday. I will be sure to return again in December!